Bloomberg Sues City Council over Wage Bills

Measures would require some businesses boost their minimum wage.

Mayor Bloomberg is suing the city council in an attempt to throw out their recently-passed living and prevailing wage bills. The new laws would require local businesses to pay a higher minimum wage if they get a certain amount of funding from the city.

Bloomberg says the requirements are illegal and would hurt the local economy and drive away business. The Council had to override Bloomberg's vetoes of the bills to make them law.

Stuart Appelbaum is the president of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which spearheaded a campaign in favor of the bills. He says Bloomberg's stance is hypocritical.

"This mayor, who feels it's alright to tell people how much soda they're allowed to purchase, doesn't feel it's okay to tell employers that they have to pay a fair wage," Appelbaum says.

"He is now wasting the city's resources to try to overturn a living wage bill that is needed by so many New Yorkers."

Both Appelbaum and a City Council spokesperson say they're confident the lawsuit will be tossed in court and the law upheld.